words and pictures by Mo WillemsHooray for more fun and surprises at www.GoMo.net!

Art © 2011 by Mo Willems

FriendshipEvent Kit

With bonus surprises inside!

www.GoMo.netArt © 2011 by Mo Willems

Amanda and Alligator are best friends. Sometimes Amanda surprises her alligator

with books. Sometimes Alligator surprises Amanda by eating them. Having a

stuffed alligator for a best friend is always surprising!

hosting a HOORAY FOR AMANDA & HER ALLIGATOR! event for young readers.

Having friends is one of the most fun parts of growing up, and you can use this kit to help

kids appreciate their friends, build new friendships, and play and be silly with their

You’ll need a few materials in addition to this kit when hosting your event:

Hooray for friends! Hooray for fun! And hooray for Amanda and Alligator!

Friendship!

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un! un!!gator!gatooroor!!

Hooray for Mo Willems!Mo Willems likes writing and drawing funny books such as the Caldecott Honor Books Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny Free: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. He also had fun creating favorites like the Elephant and Piggie series, which won two Geisel Medals, the New York Times bestselling Cat the Cat series, and Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion, which debuted as a #1 New York Times bestseller. Before making books, Mo was a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards. Mo lives with his family in Massachusetts.

Hidden Surprises!

There are 9 magic wands on the following pages. Can the kids

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Reproducible Name Tags

www.GoMo.netArt © 2011 by Mo Willems

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With a friend, name the following things from Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator! the blanks to spell the words. Work together and only peek at the answer key after you’ve tried to

puzzle out all nine items.

Surprising Words

T R C

O O

D L

M

H

E N C

C O W

C K

C LO OO OO

Surprise Trivia What animal is Amanda learning how to raise in one

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Answer Key: Truck, Hat, Crown, Doll, Pencil, Sock, Book, Clock, MaskSurprise Trivia Answer: Tiger

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Surprising friends sometimes requires your Old Thinking Cap––just ask Alligator! Create your own thinking cap with these easy steps:

1. Color in Alligator’s thinking cap on the following page

2. dashed lines

Cut out the two strips on either side of this page along the dashed lines

4. Tape the strips to the thinking cap by matching together 1 with 1 and 2 with 2

help you adjust the size by overlapping and taping together the strips at 3 and 3

Start thinking of ways to surprise your friends!

Old Thinking Cap3

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3

Surprise Tickle!

Go up to a friend and say, “Something tickles.”

“I DO!” and give him or her a friendly tickle!

memeththing g tickleles.s ”

friendly t ickle!

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Old Thinking Cap

ways to surprise your friends!

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Friendship Treasures

Having lots of friends is fun! If you had a treasure chest to

words describing those things in the bubbles surrounding Amanda and Alligator’s treasure chest of toys.

Which special Mo Willems friend has sneaked out of his own books Which hahass snee

Surprise Friend!

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Pin the Tail onAlligator

Alligator is never without his tail . . . until now.

cut out Alligator’s tail at the bottom of the page and loop a piece of tape to its underside. Tape the rest of this sheet to

folding one another and trying to reunite Alligator

with his tail at the spot marked with an X.with his tail at the spot marked with an X.

Surprise Trivia

How much did Alligator cost when Amanda bought him from

Surprise Trivia Answer: 7 cents

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Best Friend

Surprise Song!

Surprise a friend by singing him or her a song––the sillier the better!

Alligator and Panda like making discoveries, singing silly songs, and . . . dressing up!

think of on Alligator and Panda below.

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